Since 2010, our award-winning and unique cleaning and janitorial supplies business has steadily flourished. A consistent stream of new orders meant our turnover and profit margins have soared in 30 months. Highly scrutinized finances and responsible capital spending has allowed us to fulfil our new customer's requests without jeopardizing the stability of the business.

In order to grow we have had to use an invoice financing facility. However, we have a rigid plan to be self-sufficient by April 2014. Every cost is subject to review and director wages have not increased since day one and will not until we are cash positive after all costs.

Part of our business plan and cashflow strategy was to target the businesses and organisations that can typically settle their invoices within a short timeframe. As a result, our education sector customers now account for roughly 50% of our turnover. This meant we reduced our exposure to risk (having a small number of large customers who paid late).

Operationally, we have introduced systems that help cuts costs, specifically fuel and wages. We are also constantly negotiating better deals with our suppliers (either lower prices or rebates for loyalty, hitting spend targets and earlier payments) which again, helps improve our profit margin. Finally, we plot every month/quarter/year financially for six, 12, 18 and 24 months focusing on turnover, margins and cash.